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Season 4, Episode 6
The sixth episode of the fourth season of MasterChef aired on June 5, 2013. Summary Mystery Box For the Mystery Box, the home cooks will be working alongside somebody, who will give them the benchmark of a great chef. This great chef happens to be none other than Gordon Ramsay. The ingredients underneath the mystery box are ingredients typical of Japanese cuisine: black cod, black and white sesame seeds, baby beets, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, cauliflower, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, long grain white rice, Panko breadcrumbs, shallots, snap peas, mixed berries, and miso paste. While the home cooks immediately start cooking, Gordon doesn't start until there is only 30 minutes left, instead going for a stroll, talking with the judges, drinking tea, and confusing the contestants. At the end, he presents a beautiful and delicious sesame seed-crusted black cod on a bed of fragrant rice with caramelized cauliflower and a roasted peanut miso sauce. Looking at the contestants' dishes, the judges inform them that they were very impressed. However, one dish stood out as appalling, and Howard is singled out for plating raw fish. Joe warns the other contestants that dishes that that will send them home before throwing Howard's dish in the trash. For the first time in the competition, the judges were struggling and arguing to decide who made the best 3 dishes. The first dish called up into the top 3 is James's, a pan-seared black cod over cauliflower and toasted sesame purée, with shiitake mushroom salad and miso vinaigrette. The dish is deemed something that a professional cook would be proud to call his own, with a great balance, finesse, and perfectly cooked fish. Beth is the second cook called up. Her sesame crusted black cod with caramelized beets and cauliflower in a miso vinaigrette is from the heart, and one of the best dishes so far in the entire competition. The final cook is Luca, serving pan-seared black cod with cauliflower purée, butter braised shiitake mushrooms and snap peas with a miso glaze. Luca's dish has French technique, Asian flavors, and a sauce that the judges likened to some of the best Japanese restaurants in the world. The judges decide Luca's dish was the most complex and the most delicious, and declare him the winner of the Mystery Box challenge. Elimination Test For winning the Mystery Box, Luca is given immunity, and must choose a dessert for the other sixteen home cooks to make. His three options are: cookies, cupcakes, and a multi-layer cake. Luca chooses cupcakes. After Luca's choice is revealed to the other 16 home cooks, Gordon reveals a third advantage to everyone: Luca has the opportunity to remove one mixer from a contestant's station. Luca takes Jordan's mixer as a form do punishment for taking immunity in the last Team Challenge. The first to present cupcakes is Howard, with a Tunisian vanilla bean cupcake and a vanilla cream cheese frosting. For the first time in the competition, Howard makes a dish that he is given praise for, and he redeems himself from the Mystery Box immediately before. Malcolm serves the judges buttermilk cupcakes with a mascarpone cream cheese frosting and a rum banana cream inside. The cupcakes have the texture of saltines, and are really eggy. Gordon finds the flavor of the cream inside weird and unpleasant. Bime is up next with vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla and dark chocolate whipped cream frosting. Bime's cupcakes guarantee him a spot as a front runner. Gallery Notes Category:Episodes Category:Season 4